


Breathing in the Snowflakes

by Diaryofanarcissisticgayman



Series: Drabble collection [5]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-18
Updated: 2014-10-18
Packaged: 2018-02-21 16:08:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2474279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diaryofanarcissisticgayman/pseuds/Diaryofanarcissisticgayman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall gets roped into helping a cute boy sneak a kitten back to his dorm room.</p><p>Silly little drabble that doesn't really go anywhere.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breathing in the Snowflakes

“Hey!” A voice hisses. It startles Niall out of his thoughts. He’s running through the results of his latest chem exam in his head and sighing. Same old, same old. He snaps his head around, trying to find the source of the voice. He doesn’t see anyone, so he just shakes his head and blames it on stress. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s been close to a mental breakdown since he started uni.

“Hey!” The voice calls again once Niall takes a few steps. Niall looks around again, his eyes scanning the snowy landscape of the deserted quad. “Over here!”

Niall turns around and looks towards a dumpster. There’s a man hunched over in a trench coat and waving at him. He’s using the other hand to hold the coat closed and his big smile makes him look creepy as hell. Niall is about to start walking away, when the inquisitive side of him yells through his brain. He sighs and gives in, his curiosity getting the better of him once again.

“What?” Niall whispers back. He isn’t sure why they’re whispering. They’re twenty feet apart and completely alone. The other man waves him over, craning his neck around to make sure nobody sees them. Niall is probably going to get knifed behind a dumpster. That thought doesn’t seem to stop his feet from walking though and Niall sighs at his complete lack of self preservation instinct.

“Wanna see something?” The other boy, because he’s definitely younger than Niall, asks. His eyes are wild, shockingly green and stretched wide with something that looks close to excitement. This is definitely how Niall is going to die.

The other boy throws open his trench coat and Niall flinches away and lets out a strangled scream. When he isn’t stabbed after a few seconds he peeks through his fingers. He’s being stared at by not one, but two pairs of green eyes. The larger pair is looking at him curiously, probably trying to rationalize why showing Niall a kitten has caused him to become the blonde girl in a horror movie that gets killed first.

“Wait a cat?” Niall asks. He’s genuinely confused now, if not grateful that he’s not bleeding out on the snowbank nearby.

“A kitten actually.” The boy smiles. 

He’s actually kind of cute now that Niall realizes he’s not going to die. Like really cute. There’s a few twists of chocolaty curls sticking out from under the beanie he’s wearing, rebelling against his attempts to contain them. His lips are bright pink, and even from here Niall can tell they’re smothered in chap stick. It’s probably because they’re so big and Niall finds himself absentmindedly wondering what they taste like.

He blushes and then tries to bring himself back to reality. “Listen, um-”

“Harry. Harry Styles.” The boy, Harry apparently, beams brightly.

“Alright, listen Harry Harry Styles. I’ve had a long day. Like a really insanely three lectures and a lab day. Congratulations on your kitten, but I have to go make myself a cup of noodles and then die for the next six hours before doing it all over again. Have a good night.” Niall sighs.

“Wait.” Harry pleads. “I need your help. Please, um-”

“Niall Horan.” Niall sighs. Harry is so pretty and Niall hasn’t been with anyone in such a long time. He’s putty in Harry’s hands and it’s infuriating. How many times is he going to let his dick get the better of him? Probably too many.

“Niall. He’s going to freeze to death if I leave him out here. I need you to help me sneak him into my dorm room.” Harry says quickly.

“Absolutely not.” Niall says grumpily. Honestly even this pretty boy’s smile isn’t enough to get kicked out of his dorm over.

“Please? I’ll make you a real dinner.” Harry offers. Now Niall is fucked. He hasn’t had any food that wasn’t microwaved in weeks and his stomach growls it’s appreciation for the idea. “Perfect! Follow me.”

Niall groans and follows behind Harry. It turns out he actually lives in the same building as Niall, just two floors above him. Niall acts as a look out, peeking around corners and waving Harry through the halls. They decide to take the stairwell instead of the elevator, even though Harry lives on the fourth floor, because nobody ever uses the thing.

Until tonight apparently. On the second floor landing they hear the door open above them. Niall panics, looking around for the door. Harry has other ideas and presses him into the corner. Before Niall can even ask what he’s doing Harry locks their lips together. Niall doesn’t even know how to react. Harry’s lips aren’t moving, he isn’t trying to kiss Niall. He’s just trying to make it look that way.

Whoever is walking down the stairwell doesn’t even pause to ask, just keeps heading past them to the first floor. Once the door closes Harry pulls back with a sheepish grin. “Sorry. PDA makes people uncomfortable, so they tend not to look. It was the first plan I came up with.” Harry explains.

“You are so lucky that it was me of all people you asked to help you!” Niall glares. “Any other bloke would have smashed your head against the wall.”

“Interesting. I’ll file that away for later.” Harry giggles. He shoots Niall a wink and then scurries away up the stairs. Niall doesn’t follow until he’s sure the blush in his cheeks has receded to a level he can blame on the cold.

“What took you so long?” Harry whispers once they reach the fourth floor. “Scrubbing your lips or something?”

“Would you blame me?” Niall rolls his eyes.

“It wasn’t that bad kissing me, was it?” Harry pouts. Damn it, even that is cute.

“That wasn’t even a kiss!” Niall hisses. “It was like really intimate nose breathing time.”

Harry laughs really hard at that. Bending over so fast that Niall has to catch the kitten before he drops it. “That’s- that’s the best thing I’ve ever heard!” Harry laughs.

“Shut up or we’ll be caught.” Niall rolls his eyes. Once Harry stands back up Niall hands over the cat and Harry tucks him back in the fold of his coat. Niall looks to make sure the hallway is clear and then they rush down it. Harry’s room is the last one on the right and Niall stands close to make sure nobody sees when he opens it.

“How the fuck did you score a single room?” Niall asks. It’s as big as his dorm, but he shares that with another bloke.

“My parents donate a lot to the university.” Harry shrugs. He places the kitten down on his bed and then strips out of his coat and beanie. An unruly mop of curls falls out and Niall can’t help but stare. His frame is long and lanky, even more so once he pulls of the flannel he’s wearing and just stands in a t-shirt and skinny jeans. Black ink winds all over his arms, his left more than his right, and Niall almost drools.

“Alright well your cat is safe and sound, so I’m going back to my room now.” Niall sighs. He turns to leave, but Harry circles long fingers around his wrist and tugs him into a chair.

“I said I’d make you dinner. I have one of the only stove tops in the entire building, so it’ll be a real meal.” Harry laughs.

Niall’s mouth waters at just the mention of food. He hasn’t eaten in nearly eight hours, his classes ran too close and he had no time. Harry flashes a brilliant smile and stars poking around in a full sized fridge. “How do you even have a kitchen?” Niall asks.

“I told you. Donations. My mum and step-dad both went here, so I get a few perks.” Harry says.

“Of course you’re rich.” Niall sighs. He’s just thankful that he got a bank loan that covered his tuition and some other costs. His school load doesn’t give him time to work.

“I’m not rich. I would say I’m well off though.” Harry shrugs. “How do you feel about pesto fettuccine?”

“I would eat just about anything right now.” Niall groans.

“I’ll take that as a yes then.” Harry laughs. He fills a pot and sets it on the stove before setting the flame low. Niall watches as he drops a bunch of nuts and leaves in a blender and then pours in some oil and caps it off. “Sorry about this part.”

Harry starts the blender and the kitten jumps on Niall’s lap and cuddles into his arm to try to escape the noise. Niall holds the little brown fluff-ball close and covers it’s ears. He’s not really a cat person, generally preferring dogs any day, but this kitten is so sweet he can’t stop cooing over it.

“You’re good with Kitty. That’s good to know.” Harry smiles. He turns off the blender and pours the mixture into another pot. 

“You named him Kitty?” Niall asks. This boy is something else.

“I had a hamster named hamster. Figured I’d stick to the pattern.” Harry says with a laugh.

“Well that’s not going to do for me.” Niall giggles. He looks down at the kitten starting to fall asleep in his hand and says “Hmm I’m going to call you... Harry junior.”

“Because that won’t get confusing.” Harry rolls his eyes.

“He has big green eyes and dark brown fur. He looks just like you.” Niall laughs.

“Are you saying that cat is cuter than me?” Harry huffs out the question and pouts.

“Maybe, but that’s a question for philosophers, not me.” Niall says with a smile.

“Personally I’d rather find out your opinion.” Harry winks.

“My opinion is that dinner is taking too long and I might eat this cute little bugger if I don’t get some soon.” Niall laughs.

“Relax and don’t eat Harry junior.” Harry giggles. “I hate that name.”

“Get used to it. I’ll probably swing by to check on him and if he doesn’t respond to it then I’ll be very cross.” Niall winks.

“And if I don’t want some strange Irish boy poking around my room?” Harry asks. He cocks an eyebrow in challenge, but the grin splitting his face tells a different story.

“You called me from behind a bin and had me Double O Seven a cat into your dorm. If anyone is strange, it’s you.” Niall says. He sticks his tongue out and then refocuses on the tiny snoring ball of cuteness in his lap.

“It’s part of my charm. Dinner will be ready in a minute, so if you want to put him somewhere on the bed so he can sleep that’d be great.” Harry says over his shoulder.

Niall carries Harry junior to the bed and tucks him into a small swirl of blanket. Harry sets two plates down on the table and beckons Niall over. It’s much less creepy this time. Dinner is delicious and when Niall leaves that night, it isn’t without Harry’s phone number, a date set for Friday night, and a real kiss. He’s really glad he didn’t get stabbed.


End file.
